Han DynastyThe slightly domed cover delicately carved with a whorl motif as the central medallion surrounded by four leaf-shaped petals, further encircled by a border incised with four stylised curling phoenix, all enclosed within narrow raised bands, the sides of the box and cover carved with linked relief spirals, the cover mounted with a metal rim, the pale green stone suffused with grey and buff inclusions. 10.6cm (4 1/8in) diam. (2).

Footnotes

漢代 玉蓋盒

Provenance:The Sze Yuan Tang Collection

來源：思源堂收藏

The present box and cover is exceptionally rare. Compare, however, a closely related jade box and cover, Western Han dynasty, excavated in Beishantou, Chaohu, Anhui Province, in the Chaohu Municipal Museum, similarly carved with a central medallion, but with the external border carved with C-scrolls, illustrated by Gu Fang in The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, vol.6, Beijing, 2010, p.104; see also a related rock crystal box and cover, Han dynasty, illustrated by Littleton and Hennessy Ltd., The Art of Scent, London, November 2010, no.1.

Boxes such as these, made in prized materials, were probably used to store incense.

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